Faith seeking reason- Mark 9:24

Continuing our topic of prayer, we looked at lessons to be learned from our famous sibling rivalry. On one occasion the sons of Adam and Eve paused to worship God with offerings from their work. Cain was the older brother and did the work of a farmer so he brought some of his grain. Abel was a rancher so he brought fat portions from the first fruits of his flocks. God approved of Abel’s offering but not Cain’s. So, long story short, Cain killed his brother.

When it comes to lessons on prayer there are many eternal truths we could remember from this history. I decided to focus in on Cain’s feeling of anger. God focused in on it too, saying, “Why are you angry?” The rest of God’s conversation with Cain makes it clear that Cain knew what God expected of him but he disobeyed on purpose. Rather than admitting he was wrong Cain blamed his brother instead then killed him.

I confess that I like to blame the government for many of my problems. I like to blame lots of people for the condition of the world. I get angry. I haven’t killed anyone but I’ve thought about it. Because the curse of sin has affected all of us we are all prone to blame others rather than take responsibility for ourselves. My discontent with the economy is a symptom of my own envy. Our anger about the evils in our world should reveal how little we’ve done to save our neighbors from their sins.

This is a good lesson on Memorial Day too. Our forefathers and mothers sacrificed a lot to protect our God-given right to freedom and the pursuit of the common good (i.e. “happiness”). They accepted personal responsibility and acknowledged the sinfulness of humanity according to the God of the Bible. Our prayers should include significant time to judge our own hearts and thank God for the faith of those who went before us.

About

Yes, that’s a chicken on my shoulder. We live in rural Pennsylvania and a friend of ours was bonded to it so early that it thinks it’s one of us. I am a pastor and a husband and a father of 2 boys and 2 girls. I welcome you to dialogue over many fascinating and important beliefs which we are all challenged with today.